Re: '56 Patrician Brakes

Posted by John Payne On 2012/10/20 1:04:59

Thanks for the advice guys. First the cooling and yes, the system is in good order. Less than 12 months ago I had the radiator professionally cleaned and a small leak re-soldered, and it came up good on the pressure test. It is, I was told by the previous owner, a genuine factory heavy duty radiator for air conditioned cars. I also fitted a reconditioned water pump and new hoses, and it doesn't run hot. I've also wired in a pusher fan to come on automatically when the A/C is switched on, or separately from the A/C if needs be. I would be happy to fit a higher volume engine fan if I knew what to look for - all that I've seen so far don't have a centre hole big enough.

Now for the brakes. I've been doing a bit of thinking on this and I think I've almost convinced myself that the problem is a sticking/stuck wheel cylinder. I agree that the number of clicks for adjustment is just the starting point that that the easy spin with light scrape is the fine tuning. However, with the right brake it is always a heavy scrape and at the moment, close to lockup. The more I think about it, the strong pull to the left I was experiencing could well be the left brake working and the right doing bugger all. My switching them over may have caused the right wheel cylinder to move a bit before sticking again. If this is what's happening, this might also explain the heavy pedal with most braking being done by one wheel.

That's all theory for now and I certainly have to dig deep inside to find the source of the problem. If it is the wheel cylinder I won't be very happy as they were professionally reconditioned about two years ago with stainless steel liners in the bores, supposedly to last for donkey's years. However, if it turns out that this is the problem then I'll source two new ones and replace them both. What and from where will be an issue, but I know the brand, part numbers, etc, so hopefully someone will be able to cross reference them to something available locally. If not, then I'll have to check out what's available in the US. I'll keep you posted. Regards, John